Who raised Jesus from the grave?
(Matthew 27:51-66; John 10:17-18; 20:11-29; 1 Cor. 15:7-8) Blog Nov. 6-12, 2022
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: When Adan chose to believe Lucifer’s lie, all humanity became subject to corruption of nature and condemnation to death. But Jesus stepped in between the sinner and God’s justice, thus giving humanity another chance at immortality. This lively hope of victory over death encouraged God’s people in the Old Testament and was the faith of New Testament believers also. Jesus suffered and died to pay the ransom for all humanity and in him we have life.
Security
1. During the earthquake at the time of Jesus death what took place? The veil of the temple was torn in half showing the end of the earthly temple ministry & the graves of many Old Testament saints were thrown open (Matt. 27:51-53).
2. What did the Pharisees request of Pilate after Jesus’ death? The Pharisees requested that the tomb be sealed & a guard be placed to guard it so no one could steal Jesus’ body (Matt. 27:62-63).
3. What became humanly impossible when Jesus’ tomb was sealed, and a Roman guard placed there? The sealed tomb & Roman guard made it humanly impossible for anyone to steal the body of Jesus or for Jesus to come out of the tomb (Matt. 27:64-66).
4. When God sent an angel from heaven to call his Son forth what happened outside the tomb? The blazing white angel rolled away the stone & the Roman guard all fell like dead men. Then Jesus rose from the tomb (Matt. 28:1-6).
5. What happened when the soldiers told the chief priests that Jesus had risen from the dead? The chief priests gathered the elders & gave money to the soldiers so that they would tell people that Christ’s disciples came by night & stole his body while they slept (Matt. 28:11-15).
6. When the soldiers feared that their commanding officers would execute them for sleeping on duty what did the chief priests offer to do? The chief priests assured the soldiers that they would deal with Pilate so no harm would come to the soldiers (Matt. 28:14).
Power
7. What conditions helped keep Jesus’ body from experiencing decay between his death and resurrection? His death in darkness on a late spring afternoon, the ointment & linen wrapped around his body, the coolness of a cave-like tomb, & the shortness of time between a 3 PM Friday death & a 5 AM Sunday resurrection together with God’s oversite all contributed to Christ’s body not experiencing decay, thus allowing him to be raised with the same body as entered the tomb (Psa. 16:10; Matt. 27:59-60; Luke 23:44-46; John 19:39-42).
8. Who raised Jesus from the grave when the mighty angel came? God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, & Jesus himself were all involved in his resurrection (John 10:17; Acts 2:24; Rom. 8:11).
9. Of Jesus’ followers who first saw Jesus alive after the resurrection? Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after he was resurrected, showing in symbols that Jesus first appeared to his bride, the church (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-17).
10. To who else did Jesus reveal himself on the day of his resurrection? Jesus also revealed himself to the other women that came to the tomb, to two disciples as they walked to Emmaus, & to ten of his disciples gathered in the upper room (Mark 16:10-14; Luke 24:10-13).
11. How did the disciples in the upper room react to the resurrection testimony of Mary and the other women? The ten disciples didn’t believe the testimony of the resurrection, but Peter & John ran to the tomb to see for themselves (Mark 16:10-13; Luke 24:10-12; John 20:24-29).
12. After the resurrection where did Jesus tell the women that he would meet his disciples? Jesus told Mary & the other women that he would meet his disciples in Galilee (Matt. 28:7, 10, 16).
13. What other followers of Jesus saw him during the forty days he remained on earth after his resurrection? Thomas, James (the Lord’s brother) & at least 500 of his followers saw Jesus before he returned to heaven (John 20:24-29; 1 Cor. 15:4-8).
14. Besides Jesus, who else were living examples of God’s power to raise the dead? Multitudes of sleeping saints whose graves were opened when Jesus died came back to life when he arose & walked around Jerusalem as witnesses to God’s power to raise the dead (Matt. 27:51-53).
15. What happened to the multitudes of believers who were raised at Jesus resurrection? All the saints who were raised at Jesus’ resurrection were given immortality & translated to heaven with him when he returned to his Father (Eph. 4:7-10).
First Fruits
16. In what sense is Jesus the “firstfruits of them that slept”? Jesus became the new representative (Adam) for the human race, for as in Israel’s economy the firstfruits were holy & belonged to God & were a type of what the full harvest would be like, so, the holy, risen Christ returned to his place in the deity & was an example of what his saints will be like with glorified immortal bodies, yet fully identifiable as particular individuals like they were in this life (Deut. 18:4; 26:9-10; Eze. 44:30; 48:14; Rom. 11:16; 1 Cor. 13:12; 15:20-23).
17. How did Jesus fulfill the Mosaic “wave sheaf” service? On the day after the Passover Sabbath the high priest was to wave a sheaf of early ripened grain before the full harvest could take place, so Jesus presented those who rose with him as a token of the final harvest (Lev. 23:10-15; Rom. 8:29).
18. What should we learn from the resurrection of Jesus? We should learn that God accepted his sacrifice & that he was raised “for” our justification, not “because of” our justification, which comes only when we believe (Acts 2:22-24; Rom. 4:22-25).
19. What proof do we have that Jesus actually died rather than just faint? The fact that Jesus’ legs were not broken for he was already dead & the fact that a spear was thrust into his side from which flowed blood & water prove that he actually died (Mark 15:44-45; John 19:31-35).
20. What proof do we have that the resurrection of Jesus was not fabricated by his disciples? The fact that the Jews paid the soldiers to tell a lies & the fact that all the disciples suffered persecution & death to defend the truth of the resurrection prove that the disciples did not make up the story of his resurrection (Matt. 28:11-15; Acts 12:2-4).